Hi All
For anyone that will be travelling through the beautiful
Clare Valley on the 8 and 9th December, you are invited to act as Mourners as part of the 150th Anniversary of the retrieval of the remains of the ill fated Burke and Wills expedition that passed through
Clare and stayed at Pioneer
Park back in 1862.
Here is the full story from our local newspaper, The Northern Argus........
Crowds of people are needed to act as “mourners” for a unique event to be held in
Clare on December 8-9, the day after the
Clare Christmas pageant.
There will be a cavalcade of horses, riders and camels carrying “bodies” travelling along Main North Road to re-enact the retrieval from Cooper’s
Creek of the remains of the famous
explorers John O’Hara Burke and William Wills which took place 150 years ago.
The original retrieval party, led by Alfred Howitt, was greeted by hundreds of mourners lining Main North Road.
People bowed their heads and wore black armbands as the camels and horses made their solemn way through the Mid North on the way to
Melbourne, where the remains were buried after a State funeral that attracted a further 40,000 mourners.
As it passed through towns along the way, the original retrieval party was greeted by leading citizens who spoke at length about the bravery of the
explorers who died crossing Australia from South to North and back again. Five other members of their exploration team also died.
Public interest in the fate of the
explorers was so high that as
well as stopping in the streets, people lowered flags and shut their shops to mark the untimely death of the
explorers.
A small committee comprising Mark Stewart of
Bungaree Station, Gerald Lally and Sue Wurst representing
Clare Regional History Group; Gypsey Sandow, Mount Horrock Historic Society and Grant Hovey,
Rhynie Improvement Scheme has planned the re-enactment to follow the original retrieval party route and timetable.
They encourage people to join in the re-enactment to add to the impact of the event.
The cavalcade will set off from historic
Bungaree Station at 8am on December 8 after being farewelled by Mark Stewartt and Vicky
Hawker.
It will travel to
Clare via Main North Road, arriving at Ennis
Park at about midday.
A welcome committee including Mayor Allan Aughey and
Clare Regional History Group chairman Gerald Lally, will address the crowd gathered to pay their respects- not only to Burke and Wills but the many other
explorers who opened up the nation’s interior.
The reception at Ennis
Park will include music by Greg Pulford and a barbeque operated by
Clare Lions Club.
The cavalcade will proceed to
Clare Showgrounds for lunch before travelling to Horrock’s Cottage at Penwortham for an overnight stay.
Dinner will be available there as
well as a program of bush entertainments.
On December 9, the cavalcade will move on to
Rhynie Hotel where it will be greeted by Member for Frome, Geoff Brock. Money collected for The Royal Flying Doctor Service will be presented to
a representative of that organisation.
“If you want to step back in time and be part of this historic re-enactment, all you have to do is attend the events or line the streets to show your respects for the passing two of Australia’s best known
explorers,” committee member Sue Wurst said.
“It’s a great way to acknowledge the enormous debt we owe to all the
explorers who risked their lives to open up the country.”
Better still, make a weekend of it and see the Christmas Pageant on the Friday night and take part of this historic event over the Weekend.
Cheers and lets hope to see a few EO faces in the crowd.
Stephen